Valley Irrigation is the worldwide leader in precision irrigation. Valley Irrigation continues the effort to promote irrigation efficiency education through the use of center pivot and linear irrigation in California to produce alfalfa. Learn more

Choosing the right irrigation technology, equipment and practices are key to maximizing your farm’s revenue. Educating yourself and your co-workers can help you and your team make the right decisions.Learn more

Regardless of the space or purpose of the lighting, we provide standard or custom-made light poles, lamp posts, high-mast light towers and accessories in a range of designs and materials that exceed all governing design codes.Learn more

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When your center pivot stops in the heat of a dry summer threatening your crop yield, you can trust that your Valley dealer has the education and technology necessary to resolve the problem quickly and efficiently. Learn more

Valley Irrigation is the worldwide leader in precision irrigation. The Valley brand of center pivot, linear, and corner equipment provides solutions for conserving water and meeting the growing demand for food.Learn more

Why the Valley ICONX Smart Panel is Practically a Genius

If you’re ready to start using smart technology on your Valley® center pivots – or any other brand, for that matter – we’d like to introduce you to your new best friend: the Valley ICONX smart panel. This panel is so smart that it can actually take control of another panel’s circuits and integrate it into one connected network.

The Valley ICONX is an affordable way to upgrade just about any control panel without upgrading all of your center pivots. It’s equipped with GPS and AgSense ICON Link, making it easy to bring center pivots of all brands into the AgSense® or BaseStation3TM network, for easy control and management of all your center pivots on one platform.

Making irrigation more efficient

Chip Block, a sod farmer in Georgia, says that using AgSense through ICONX makes irrigating much simpler.

“I can monitor my center pivots on my phone from anywhere, and I can time things better,” Block explains. “I have 22 pivots, and with four of them on AgSense with the Valley ICONX smart panels, I can get more things done. I hope to convert all of my other pivots to the Valley ICONX in the next year.”

Growers who are conserving water through variable rate irrigation (VRI) also see the benefit of switching to a Valley ICONX smart panel and adding an AgSense subscription.

Glen Schur near Plainview, Tex., gathers data from soil moisture probes every day, calculates evaporation and makes water decisions based on the data.

“We started splitting our center pivots and planting crops based on water availability,” he says. “We use VRI prescriptions and irrigate by degrees wherever the best land and water is. Using the Valley ICONX smart panel with an AgSense subscription is an economical and easy way to track what our center pivots are doing and see just how much water we’re applying to varying parts of the field. We can then analyze and make the necessary adjustments as we go.”

But what if you’re not a technology kind of guy?

Well, you’re not alone.

Scott Friend of Havana, Ill., says he doesn’t get along well with computers, but his situation required him to adapt. His electric company installed boxes on Friend’s center pivots so they could cut power during peak times. When those boxes become obsolete, Friend decided to stay ahead of the technology curve by installing Valley ICONX smart panels so he could shut his center pivots down himself during those peak times.

“So far, we’ve replaced nine of the panels on Valley center pivots that range in age,” says Friend. “One of those pivots goes back to 1983 and had the original box on it. We also have a Reinke that’s on land for a trust, and we put an ICONX on that one, too.”

Lee Herrick in Nebraska also put the Valley ICONX smart panel on a variety of center pivots.

“I’ve got older Valley machines,” Herrick says. “I replaced an old red panel on an ’84 model. The rest were older CAMSTM. The structure on all of my center pivots is still fine, so I didn’t need to replace the machines – just the way I was controlling them.”

So, what do these tech-averse growers think?

“It went really smoothly,” Friend says. “Our machines are pretty spread out, so I’m saving a lot of fuel and miles on my truck. I don’t have to drive 20 miles just to check on one irrigation machine – I can just look on my phone.”

“I enjoy it,” he adds, “even in the field. When I’m out working, I don’t have to stop what I’m doing to move the system. I can do it from my phone in my tractor. That sped up planting and working the ground this year.”

Herrick had an even more dramatic response.

“For me, it was like going from a stone tablet to a computer, and so far, I am 100 percent satisfied,” Herrick says. “It’s sophisticated but user friendly. I can do whatever I want with it, and if I hit a wrong button, I’m not going to break anything. I can’t really mess things up.”

What about corners?

“I use AgSense telemetry on all of my center pivots, but I had an old TouchProTM on my corner machine,” says Nebraska farmer Bryant Knoezer. “I wanted to have the same control on my corner as I have on my other machines, so I had the Valley ICONX installed. It was pretty simple. Since my corner pivot is powered by a generated diesel power unit, I still have to start it at the panel, but then I can monitor from my smartphone.”

“It lets me make more precise adjustments, especially on end guns,” he explains. “It has all the goodies of modern technology, but it’s still simple enough for anyone to use.”

About Valley IrrigationValley Irrigation is the worldwide leader in precision irrigation. The Valley brand of center pivot, linear and corner equipment provides solutions for conserving water and meeting the growing demand for food.